Importance Of Leafy Vegetables

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LEAFY VEGETABLES The leaves of local wild and cultivated plants are of vegetables which are rich in starch and part of African diet (Smith, 2007). Some of these African leafy vegetables can also be classified as functional foods because they contain high nutrient which are beneficial to human health (Van wyk, 2003). Green plants absorb the minerals they need for diverse anabolic processes from the soil, the complex organic compounds found in plant leaves are antioxidant molecules which serves as protection against oxidative solar radiation (Zimmermann, 2005). Leafy vegetables are therefore important sources of minerals, trace elements and photochemical with health protective and immune–strengthening properties. Molecular evidences shows that the trace elements in leafy vegetables and antioxidant molecules present lowers the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease through a mechanism that molecule free radical attack on nucleic acids, proteins and polyunsaturated fatty acids (Borek,2003). This is an indication that leafy vegetables have a higher antioxidant properties compared to e...

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